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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I think I’ve mentioned a few times how much I really dislike stories that try to entertain you by making you hate certain characters. When the enjoyment is meant to come from the schadenfreude of their comeuppance, I not only check out, but get a weird primal disgust for the story. This is why I can’t watch Game of Thrones.
I don’t know how I can be a shitty human in other areas of my personality but also have this strong aversion to hate-based entertainment.
Needful Things pulls this trick multiple times, even mixing up that manufactured hatred with religion. Why not? Throw some titties and decapitations in there and you’ve got an HBO blockbuster, I guess. Not that I dislike nudity and gore/violence at all, its just kind of pathetic and cynical when you think about the whiteboard in some executive’s office where they worked out the base elements that the show needs, and in order, listed:
1. Hate porn
2. Actual porn (as much as we can get away with on cable)
3. Gore and violence
4. A story that gives us a reason to do numbers 1-3
Anyway, look. It’s fine.
The book is fine. It teased at some Lovecraftian connections and I was hoping we would get some kind of cosmic monster/god, but turns out that was just a throwaway detail. The last act of the book is King and his characters all doing cocaine and ending things in a whatthefucknado of “guess this has to end now.” The story keeps along at a decent clip as it builds and then suddenly explodes into mayhem and ties up pretty fast.
It’s fine. I was actually expecting it to be more hate-porny than it was, so that’s a plus. But I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t much else to the horror side of it.
I don’t know how I can be a shitty human in other areas of my personality but also have this strong aversion to hate-based entertainment.
Needful Things pulls this trick multiple times, even mixing up that manufactured hatred with religion. Why not? Throw some titties and decapitations in there and you’ve got an HBO blockbuster, I guess. Not that I dislike nudity and gore/violence at all, its just kind of pathetic and cynical when you think about the whiteboard in some executive’s office where they worked out the base elements that the show needs, and in order, listed:
1. Hate porn
2. Actual porn (as much as we can get away with on cable)
3. Gore and violence
4. A story that gives us a reason to do numbers 1-3
Anyway, look. It’s fine.
The book is fine. It teased at some Lovecraftian connections and I was hoping we would get some kind of cosmic monster/god, but turns out that was just a throwaway detail. The last act of the book is King and his characters all doing cocaine and ending things in a whatthefucknado of “guess this has to end now.” The story keeps along at a decent clip as it builds and then suddenly explodes into mayhem and ties up pretty fast.
It’s fine. I was actually expecting it to be more hate-porny than it was, so that’s a plus. But I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t much else to the horror side of it.
I had almost given up on Stephen King. Luckily I had this gem sitting on my shelf as a garage sale purchase from years ago. I kept waiting for a lull in the story, but everything just keeps ramping up and up and up for 700+ straight pages. What an awesome commentary on greed, and its influence on ego and relationships.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This would have worked pretty well as a short story but it goes on for way too long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A good King to start with if you're new to his work, but be warned, this book is brutal. As with most King novels and King stories, the pages of this are smeared with blood and guts, psychological horror and mounting dread. But of course, this and most King novels are about the journey, and this journey is a heartfelt, blood-smeared "farewell" to Castle Rock with characters that leap off the page and grab you firmly by the balls. The ending is wacky as all fuck and there are a lot of scenes that could've been removed and not affect the story at all; they're in there though and they grind this book's pacing like a mortar and pestle. Still, this, along with The Shining are the books I will be recommending to people new to his immense body of work.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Alan Pangborn: "hey, want some flowers, demon boy?"
everyone:
everyone: